Blake Shelton on Music: ‘It Saved My Life’

Blake Shelton is poised to start his 14th season on NBC’s hit reality show The VoiceFeb. 26. He's racked up a lot of time in that red chair, but as the singer told ET Canada, it's the perfect job for someone whose entire life revolves around music. In fact, he told the outlet his life at times depended on music.

“Music has been a gift on a lot of different levels for me, whether it was singing, songwriting, the instruments, producers...I was just fascinated with music," he explained. "It truly did, at some points in my life, it saved my life."

He went on to describe how he applies this passion to his job on the show. “What makes The Voice so special is we actually take time to work with these artists and try to affect change in their ability to be a performer," he explained. (Fellow coach Adam Levine agrees with this, saying that the show's "nurturing process is great.")

Shelton also told the outlet that he'll be keeping a close eye on returning coach Alicia Keys—who beat him in Season 12 with the soulful Chris Blue—as well as first-time coach Kelly Clarkson.

“I like to refer to Alicia as silent but deadly. You don’t realize that because she’s kind of soft-spoken," he noted of the singer. "She’s an artist whisperer, that’s what she is. Before you realize it she has said something that could possibly have changed this person’s life.”

As for Clarkson? "I’ve known Kelly for about 10 years now. We’ve been great friends. Such great friends that she ended up marrying my manager," he joked. "She is not fun to be in competition with, I can tell you that. It doesn’t make it easier to be Kelly’s friend going into this thing in a competitive nature. She’ll definitely go for the throat.”

Shelton has no need to feel too intimidated—he's won more seasons than any other coach (six, to be exact) and is the currently reigning coach with Season 13's triumph by Chloe Kohanski.